Recent reviews by Angelid

I cannot reccommend this game in it's current state. I don't neex to add more than one word: Bots.

#fixtf2 #savetf2

Valve, do your bare minimum of a job when it comes to providing a "live service" game, and do your live service.

Congrats to the Helldiver PC community-- We spoke loud and hard until they changed their decision. I can't help but be happy that the online communities I am a part of are capable of so much change, and quickly.

Arrowhead, I am sorry you got somewhat dragged along through this. Thank you for listening, thank you for being a Dev we can love.

EDITED from original post:
I have a fairly low end GFX card (960 Nvidia), one that I have used for the better part of a decade. It doesn't run at 60fps or anything, but on the lowest settings i get from 15-20 frames smooth, which was better than I anticipated. Removing the clouds with the in game console was the best fix for framerate issues after putting everything to low except global illumination quality, which was left at medium so you can see the supply drop lights.

I still can't quite recommend this because there are a lot of problems with online play. However, I would say it's a tentative watch for anyone who liked the previous title. in single player, I already see so many good TLC and quality of life changes. I no longer have hit-reg issues on flyers, and many dinos dont get stuck on everything as they follow me (a few still do). They are constantly fixing bugs rn, and are doing their best atm to listen to the community (even if they fail to tell us what they are doing).

Cross your fingers that Wildcard can keep up the good momentum.

If you like factory-style games (factorio, etc) this is a really good one.
It's a bit more simple than some of them-- there's no research tree, progress is gained by how much money you have and how much creativity you put into it.
Although it's progression is a bit linear, it makes for a really good starting place to learn how factory games work, or get used to logistic games in general.

Still one of the best 4x style games I have played. Better with friends.
Pros:
Up to 8 player games (AI or player controlled)
Team games (2v2, 4v4, or any combination of teams with up to 8 players)
six very different races (they all play a little differently, especially toward the mid game)
Expansive tech tree; easy to play, hard to master
absolutely baffling amount of Lore for each race
Many different ways to play, with styles of play changing with each race

Cons:
The menuing shows its age, though for it's time they were pretty good.
Expansive tech tree that doesn't tell you what you'd be unlocking other than the research you have, meaning memorization of the tech is a bit of a must, especially with a couple of the races.
Ship management gets pretty difficult later on, unless you are really good at that kind of thing.
A lot of the techs don't give you numbers. For example, the tree that gives you increased missle damage doesn't say by how much or how it interacts with other damage buffs.

A very good twist on the old battle arena PubG style of gameplay, with lovely visuals and excellent sound design. I don't usually care for those types of games but this is worth trying out, especially if you DO like those kinds of games.

Pros:
-It's a free game that was in development for a long time, so the quality of visual art style and gameplay 'feel' is amazing.

-They put a lot of work into sound design. You can tell each attack apart, and even each active skill. Sometimes even the passive talents have their own sounds that tell you information you otherwise would have missed if the sound wasn't as abrupt or distinctive.

-No pay to win at all. Just a pay to look cool and more flashy. (which can be a downside in this style of play)

-Combat and exp system rewards skilled play

-You don't have to buy the currency (called gold) to get anything in the store, as you can get some as you level your account, gear, and do daily quests.

-The battle pass can be bought with the previously mentioned currency.

-Minor story, you don't need to know it to have fun with the game.

-Good tutorial that shows the basics and lets you play around in a practice mode with every piece of gear at every tier

-Lobbies for game queue throw you in that practice map, so it's not a dull load.

-You don't HAVE to play in a 3 man, you can duo or solo Q.

-Has an alternative mode that's 9v9 deathmatch style (which is the better option for practicing with your gear IMO)

-Unlockable passives that are relatively easy to access if you really want that 'one' talent.

-The weapon gear (Guantlets) interact with one another. IE If you have lightning, you can zap a trail of ice or poison puddles someone left behind and stun people. You can set ablaze poison and wind skills with the fire gauntlet, or use the wind gauntlet to clear up poison mists, fire walls, and misdirect many attacks with the wind tornado.

-As a add to the previous: You can choose a main gauntlet to go into a game with, and then change the secondary during the game as you find gear. So you don't have to rely on an enemy/ ally to set up your skills (Though good players will know how to use that to their advantage).

-Each gauntlet comes with passive skills as the game goes on while equipped in the main hand. Wind allows you to 'jump' if you aim at a surface near you, and stone gives you a base +20 armor and regens it up to that amount if you have none/less than that when attacking. And those are just the ones that you start with! Flight through fire walls and a camouflage when you throw your own toxic mist onto yourself are things that can change a fight pretty quickly when mastered.


Cons:
-It can take a REALLY LONG time to get that ONE skin you want. some of them cost upwards of 4000 gold in a bundle (1500 by themselves is the most I've seen), and since it only gives you about 50 gold per daily and on most level-ups, it could take a while to get anything you want in the shop.

-The shop rotates through it's stock. So when you see that skin you want and you're still a ways off, you might be sitting on that money a while when you finally get enough.

-You are locked out of more quests a day/week until you get this game's version of a battle pass, that costs 1000 gold.

-Sometimes luck isn't on your side and you can run a whole game without upgrading some of your gear, which at final rank is a ~ +20% increase in effectiveness and damage in some cases. (They said they added new lootables that give guaranteed elementals based on the type of chest, but they don't seem to be around yet.)

-Most of the 'emotional' emotes are in the shop for gold. You can unlock a few through leveling your gear but it's usually a little stance and flaunt of the element you've mastered (they unlock at level 20. Which takes FOREVER). Ice skating emote for the ice, a hover for the wind, and so on. If you want to do more than nod, shake your head, and wave for actual EMOTES, you need to spend Gold.

-You sometimes need to go well out of your way for some of the quests. "Open this many chests in this part of the map" can be hard if you aren't able to drop anywhere near it. "drop in this part of the map" also applies to this annoyance, but it's rare to go more than three games without being able to do it.

-You can't (yet?) change your main-hand gear in the practice map/mode. The issue is, you have to leave that 'practice lobby' then change your gear on the main screen, THEN reload the map again. Every time you want to use another main hand gear to see what interactions happen.


If you are tired of the old PubG/Fornite run and gun routine, give this one a try.

I think the best part about this game is that there's technically no wrong way to play it.

You want to fish every day, be anti-social, and leave your farm as a forested mess? Go for it.
Clear up a single spot of your farm just for a coop to have an army of chickens? You can do that.
Date every character possible at once? You can, with consequences for doing so.
Delve into the mine every day, doing nothing but releasing your inner dwarf? Yup.
Cook for the rest of your in-game life?
That one is going to take a little work but you CAN do it.

There's nothing in this game that you can't do. The latest update even added a new farm type and some serious late game fun stuff (I haven't even explored the full experience this game has to offer!).

The single, most wonderful part of this?
There's multiplayer.
Have fun growing or destroying your farm, together! (Friends not included)

The only downside to this game is that it feels like the people of the town are stuck in a time-paradox-- the in game 'time' will count your years, but the loop only lasts for two in game years or so. Once that loop starts again, you'll start seeing the characters doing and asking for the same things.

This game was amazing. It was the most fun I'd ever have in a game, and I miss it so much.

Whether it was throwing myself into the storm wall with nothing but two engines and a dream,
Watching my ship crash into the abyss after a storm passed over me and tore my ship to shreds.
Sitting on the backs of the large bugs and watching them roam around the island...
Or flinging myself into the sky from grappling onto a manta ray that chased a ship to the open sky.

Friends or not, I could play this game for hours, even if it's just sitting on the back of a bug, watching the clouds roll by and feeling the raw awe of the game's atmosphere.

I hope, even if it's ten years from now, they return to this.
I hope they work on it in their spare time, or still have the full build somewhere, biding their time for the day we can return to the islands that we all called our playground.

While it says I don't have much time shown on steam, I played this game years ago and have thoroughly put many, many hours into this game. Back then I just took whatever I wanted into each game. Now I can look back and say holy hell, this is such a great game.

The combat is a turn-based tactics-style strategy with some rpg elements thrown in. While there is a 'cash shop' (by what I remember) as you progress you can get more 'radiance' (the secondary currency for buying more characters) by simply completing levels and by daily quests. With enough time you can get pretty far.

The web-based version didn't have voice acting, and while the steam version does, I think it was still well done though not the greatest in the world. The story was great back then and I hope it added more over the years (I'll update this post once I get a few hours in :P)

The animation is something I really liked about this game, at least during the combat. They are clear and readable skills and spells, even the passive buffs are easily read with distinct colors. Each summon has their own sets of skills, and while two or more can heal there is specialists-- the priest being the main healer, the tree-ent the best tank as far as I remember it, and the druid doing the best sustained field-control with her summons and rocks that stun things for at least a turn. I didn't get a mage type summon until later on, but the nukers were there.

All in all one of my favorite games of all time that ever came from the internet-- well done Tactics Studio. :)